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Gadsden County sheriff awarded $5.6 million grant to expand jail mental-health services
Summary
Sheriff Young’s office received a $5,600,000 award over three years to add facilities and hire mental-health clinicians for the Gadsden County Jail; officials said the program could become a regional pilot site.
Reginald James, speaking on behalf of Sheriff Young and jail administrators, told the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners that the sheriff’s office has been awarded $5,600,000 over three years to support treatment for inmates with mental illness.
The award targets the county jail’s high rates of mental illness: James cited national statistics and said the local jail’s population is “roughly 30 percent or better” affected. "Sheriff Young has taken a proactive . . . He's applied for and been awarded $5,600,000 over the next 3 years to support the treatment of inmates suffering from mental health in the Gadsden County Jail," James said.
James said the funding will pay for renovations to create mental-health–specific space in the jail and for hiring ‘‘high level mental-health professionals’’ including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, clinical therapists and nurses. He said the program will also address people deemed incompetent to stand trial and could reduce the number of repeated arrests by people with untreated mental illness.
James described the award as a competitive, pilot-style grant: he said Gadsden County is one of only a few sites in the state to receive the funding and that the sheriff’s office hopes it will allow the county to serve as a regional model. He said the county will hire locally and that initial implementation work would begin in May.
Commissioners and members of the public asked about how the grant is structured. James said the $5.6 million is total funding spread over three years and that it will be divided across capital renovations, staff salaries and program operations. He pledged to return to the commission with progress updates as the program moves forward.
No formal board action was recorded on the grant during the presentation; James said the sheriff’s office will bring implementation details back to the board as they are finalized.
Ending: County staff and Sheriff Young’s office indicated they will present implementation plans and budget details to the board as they are developed, and James said he would keep commissioners “abreast” of progress and timelines.
